News

THERE were almost surreal scenes in Dublin’s Baggot Street last week as Fas employees staged a 3½-hour picket outside their own headquarters. The issue that prompted the protest was decentralisation and the minister of state Tom Parlon’s plan to move the state training and employment authority to Birr in Co Offaly.

The role of Fas has developed in recent times. One of its key tasks in an economy close to full employment is to match the supply and demand for labour in key geographic areas. Applying this rule to its own business has been a complete failure. Just six out of 400 Fas employees would like to be transferred to “Parlon Country”, as it is called.

The numbers prepared to make the trek were boosted by a further 20 when recent recruits to Fas were told it was an explicit condition of their employment contracts that they would do so,